Failed Expectations
on Both Sides, 1915
ThewarintheMiddleEastduring 1915 wasmorethana"sideshow,"
assomeBritisharmyleadersinEuropedescribedit, forthegigantic
battlesunfoldingontheWesternFront.Itproducedoneach side a
wholeseriesofpoliticalandmilitaryventures.GermanyandTurkey
continuedtostruggletoinciteMuslims,fromLibyatoIndia,to re-
voltagainsttheBritish,andBritainexperiencedoneofitsgreatest
militarydefeatsinhistoryattheDardanelles.Also,theAnglo-Indian
attackinsouthernMesopotamiagroundto ahaltalongtheTigris
RiverfortymilessouthofBaghdad.TheseAlliedsetbacks,whencom-
binedwiththesteadyadvanceoftheGermanandAustro-Hungarian
forcesagainsttheRussiansontheeasternfront,providedtheCen-
tralPowers ameasureofascendancyintheworldwar.The SuezCanal,Gallipoli, and BritishConcernsfor Egypt
Asthenew yearopened,GermanofficialsincreasinglysawtheMiddle
EastasanareainwhichtheReichcouldmosteffectivelystrikeand
damageBritain.Inthisregard,theyheldviewsremarkablysimilarto
theso-called"Easterners"inBritain.'TheGermansseemedworried
onlyabouttheirinabilitytoacquireintelligenceinformationfrom
Egypt,whichtheTurksplannedsoontoattack.
TheReich'sestimatesofthenumbersofBritishtroopsdefending
Egypt,whichinrealitynumberedseventy-thousand,variedwidely.
Inmid-JanuaryinformationstillremainedscarcewhentheTurks
broughttheflag(sanjak)oftheprophetMuhammadfromMedina
toJerusalemtosymbolizethebeginningofthejihad.Simultaneously,
whenthebulkoftheTurkishVIIICorps,abouttwentythousand
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